Pennies are becoming more available across Missouri after months of shortages affecting businesses and banks statewide.
Jackson Hataway, President and CEO of the Missouri Bankers Association, said conditions have improved since the Federal Reserve resumed allowing banks to order pennies again in March, helping to get more coins back into circulation.
“So, while you have no new pennies entering the system, you’ve eased the choke point significantly, and that simplified the problem from what we thought it would be when it was first announced the penny would disappear,” Hataway said.
Hataway said shortages that were once reported in cities like St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield have largely leveled off in recent weeks.
“We would hear in St. Louis, Kansas City, maybe Springfield, that there was a need for more pennies,” he said. “That seems to have really died down since the Fed’s announcement, and we haven’t heard as much from any of the communities around Missouri about penny shortages probably in the last month or two. It seems like it’s very much leveled off.”
Missouri lawmakers are also weighing a longer-term solution as pennies become harder to find. A bill sponsored by state Rep. Brenda Shields, R-St. Joseph, would allow businesses to round cash purchases to the nearest five cents when exact change is unavailable. Her bill is awaiting a decision from the governor.
Hataway said if the measure becomes law, businesses are expected to quickly adopt the practice, easing ongoing challenges tied to penny availability.
“You would see merchants and retailers simply adopt the policy as quickly as possible so that it would be in compliance with what will be state law,” Hataway said. “I think it will very quickly start to provide a little bit of calmness to what has been a bit of a chaotic process as the penny has been wiped out.”
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